Would Dolly Parton be Dolly Parton if she grew up outside Appalachia? Unlikely, says Martha Ackmann.<\/p>\n
Ackmann, the author of \u201cAin\u2019t Nobody\u2019s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton,\u201d spoke with Joanna Weiss, the editor of Harvard Magazine, about Parton\u2019s upbringing, career, and legacy in a Radcliffe book talk this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many, many books about Dolly Parton, but I wanted to locate her in her historical and cultural setting,\u201d Ackmann said. \u201cWhen I was writing, I would say to myself, \u2018Would Dolly Parton be Dolly Parton if she had grown up in Wyoming?\u2019 And I think the answer is no.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many, many books about Dolly Parton, but I wanted to locate her in her historical and cultural setting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha Ackmann<\/p>\n
Parton, who turned 80 in January, has made a name for herself not only as a singer, but as a songwriter adept at drawing inspiration from her surroundings. This year, the Academy of Country Music named her a recipient of its Poet\u2019s Award for her \u201chonesty, heart and unmatched storytelling power.\u201d Parton, the group said, has written songs that \u201chave shaped the culture of country music and continue to resonate far beyond genre lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Ackmann\u2019s book documents, Parton, who grew up in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, honed her skills as a musician and a songwriter in empty chapels and around the house. She picked up various instruments, or really anything that made a sound, and became a prolific writer.<\/p>\n
In 1967, Parton was introduced to the public on the popular \u201cPorter Wagoner Show,\u201d where she performed original music and duets with Wagoner. Her biggest early success came in 1974 with the release of \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d which Elvis Presley\u2019s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, sought the rights for only to have Parton turn him down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thought of Elvis recording her song was like something she never dreamed,\u201d Ackmann said. \u201cBut Colonel Parker calls and says, \u2018Elvis always retains the publishing rights.\u2019 She knew her worth, and she knew she had a right to that, and that she better protect it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to her 58-year marriage to Carl Dean, who died last year, Parton\u2019s ties to her home and her extended family have provided a deep well of support and inspiration, Ackmann noted. In turn, she\u2019s made her home region the focus of much of her philanthropic work.<\/p>\n
Ackmann described Parton\u2019s affection and devotion toward home with a phrase borrowed from the country legend\u2019s grandmother, who would tell her grandchildren to return to their cabin \u201conce the sun is beginning to leave the pinnacle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that,\u201d Ackmann said. \u201cAnd I also thought of that metaphorically. When things begin to get dark, it\u2019s time to come home. Not just geographically, but to one\u2019s values, to one\u2019s truths, to one\u2019s family, to what keeps our feet on the ground, and I think that that guiding light very much traveled down to Dolly as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Would Dolly Parton be Dolly Parton if she grew up outside Appalachia? Unlikely, says Martha Ackmann. Ackmann, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[412,146,1154,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-589753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-books","tag-entertainment","tag-history","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}